You may have heard some rumblings this week that Republicans were resurrecting Trumpcare by making it even worse.
That's partially true (they did make it much worse) but I haven't mentioned it before now because it's not going anywhere. They aren't going to actually vote on it. It's all bullshit.
Why is it bullshit? Because the fundamentals haven't changed. The Freedom Caucus, the moderate Tuesday Group, and House Republican leadership cannot agree on a single path forward and, according to various reports, Vice President Pence certainly hasn't helped the situation.
Pence was dispatched to negotiate a deal between both sides, but Pence apparently told both sides two completely different things.
Conservatives in the House Freedom Caucus say Vice President Mike Pence, chief of staff Reince Priebus and budget director Mick Mulvaney sought to win their votes by offering a repeal of major Obamacare regulations during a Monday night meeting. But moderates who met with the same Trump officials hours before were told the changes wouldn’t be as far-reaching. [...]
A late-night huddle with Pence and the leaders of all the GOP caucuses in the basement of the Capitol failed to clarify the issue, leaving Hill insiders speculating whether the White House offered two different potential deals — or lawmakers selectively heard what they wanted.
The Freedom Caucus was told they could repeal coverage for pre-existing conditions by allowing insurers to charge sick people more money.
That would obviously be a fucking disaster, so the moderates were told another story.
As a Democrat I'd like to encourage the GOP to continue talking about all the ways they want to kill people so long as they remain incapable of actually following through on it.
Congress will adjourn tonight for a two-week recess and, when they return, they will have just four days to avert a government shutdown.